A healthy environment is essential for humans to have a high standard of living, but every day, people take it for granted and slowly the environment is being destroyed. The world faces several environmental issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, global warming, the melting of the polar ice caps, and the destruction of the world’s rainforests. Several large cities such as Shanghai face more localized issues such as air pollution that the locals must breathe and water pollution that the people must drink. Being environmentally friendly and “green” is not only a hip thing now but it soon may be a necessity for ensuring the survival of the human species.
There are several ways that one can contribute to helping the environment:
一些非再生性能源，比如煤与汽油，因为价格低被人们优先使用，再生性的能源比如风力发电等被人置之不理，而现在随着汽油资源的日渐短缺，风力涡轮机已成现实，这不仅可以获得能源，也不给环境造成负面的影响，不像传统的电厂，冒出黑烟。
Non-Renewable energy resources such as coal and gas have traditionally been preferred over renewable energy sources such as wind energy due to their cheaper cost. However, in light of the depletion of those non-renewable resources, including the oncoming global struggle for oil resources, these alternatives are becoming more and more of a reality. Here we see a line of several wind turbines in the middle of the ocean, where the wind is able to pick up lots of momentum and naturally spin the turbines, generating electrical power with no negative effects on the environment.
另外一种再生性能源是水力，可以利用自然的瀑布，也可以人为制造水坝形成水流的落差，借用水力带动发电机发电，这也是人类巧妙利用自然赋予的条件，服务于自身的智慧之举。
Another renewable energy source is hydroelectric power. This involves harnessing the power of falling water, which is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is found at waterfalls, and also can be artificially created using a dam. The weight of the falling water can spin water turbines which are connected to electrical generators. Dams block the flow of water in a river and allow people to control the fall of water to generate this electrical power.
如图所示，是化石燃料的电厂。人类拥有煤炭，石油和天然气等化石燃料，数年来一直用这些为我们提供电能和热能，但这确实是把双刃剑---燃烧的废气无法冲破大气层，因此导致了温室效应，也导致了酸雨，杀灭了许多江湖里的水生动物。为了减少废气排放，我们开始采取一些措施，比如在烟囱里使用一些化学物质，尽可能多的抵消有毒气体，让有害物质尽可能少地排入空气里。
Pictured here is a fossil fuel power plant. Humans owe fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for powering their appliances and heating their homes for decades, but burning these fuels for energy is a double edged sword. The waste products generated from burning them leads to problems such as the greenhouse effect where heat is unable to escape from the earth’s atmosphere and acid rain, which may kill aquatic life in lakes and rivers. Measures can be taken to help reduce these harmful waste products by using chemicals in the smokestacks to help absorb these toxins before they are released into the environment.
每个个人都有责任和义务，在这个世界上尽少地留下“碳足迹”，意思是，尽量少地污染环境。我们都应该遵守“3R准则”：再利用，减少使用和重复使用。再利用（回收）是将使用过的材料处理又变成新的可以使用，这样就不浪费一点潜在有用的东西，常被回收的东西有：塑料、玻璃和纸张；减少使用是限制你的消费量；重复使用在你丢弃物品之前，尽可能多地使用它。
Every human has the responsibility to try to minimize their carbon footprint on the world. That is, they should strive to minimize the amount of environmentally harmful waste they contribute to the environment. They can do this by following the “three R’s”: Recycle, reduce, and reuse. Recycling involves taking used materials and processing them so they are new again, thereby not wasting any potentially useful substances. Commonly recycled items include plastics, glass, and paper. Reducing involves limiting your overall consumption. Reusing involves getting the most out of the produces you consume by using them multiple times before discarding them.
如果你马上就想行动，对环境做点好事，明天就把汽车钥匙留在家里，步行上班。汽车是城市污染的重要来源，不仅排放废气加剧温室效应，而且导致噪音污染，让城市愈加焦虑。步行或者骑车上班，不仅省了汽油，还能锻炼身体，更能有助环境。
If you want to make an immediate positive impact on the environment, then leave your car keys at home tomorrow and walk to work instead. Automobiles are a major contributor to pollution in large cities such as Shanghai, and they can contribute to the greenhouse effect just like fossil fuel plants. They also are a contributor to noise pollution which can add to the anxiety of city life. By walking or riding your bike to work you save gas, get exercise and are friendly to the environment.
树木逐渐被砍伐，让位于工业化。植树造林至关重要，树木吐露芬芳的氧气，为野生动物提供了居所，也为人类提供荫凉，哪怕是颗树苗抑或一粒种子，好好开始培育吧，那是你在这个世界上，留下的足迹。
Trees are being cut every day to make space for industrialization. This is why it is very important to plant trees whenever possible. Trees provide oxygen to the environment, wood, homes for many wildlife, and shade for people. You can plant a tree from a seed or a seedling, just make sure you do your research before attempting to plant one or it will die.
不管在家还是在办公室，离开房间的时候，关掉电灯，电脑，音响和电视，这些消耗电能的产品，让它徒劳的消费能源，又不为我们所用，着实很可惜。
At work or at home, when you leave a room, turn off all of your equipment. This includes lights, computers, stereos, and televisions, as they are all heavy consumers of electricity.
水是宝贵的资源，没有它人类无法生活，我们不能浪费一滴水，检查一下水管和水龙头，是否关闭严密，洗澡的时候，也要学会控制水量，不要让喷淋无休止地喷洒。
Water is a precious resource and without it, humans would not be able to survive. That’s why we should treasure it and never even waste a single drop. Make sure your water taps are all completely shut off, and limit the amount and length of showers you take.
我们生活的今天，这个地球需要呵护，从自己做起，从现在做起，从我们如何去上班，到我们决定产品怎么包装，请把绿色揣在胸间，因为我们拥有同一个家园，我们还要用自己的行动创造更美的空间，这影响深远，还能受惠我们的子孙，正如奥巴马所说：这不是天方夜谭，这是科学，气候的改变，将威胁我们的安全，我们的经济，直至我们的地球！
We live in a day and age where the Earth’s future depends heavily on every individual’s personal choices, from how they get to work to what kind of packaging they use for their products. By being environmentally friendly, you are not only making the world a better place to live for you and your neighbors, but also for future generations such as your children and grandchildren. To illustrate the level of importance of saving the environment, I would like to share with you a quote from Barack Obama. In his recent visit to the Copenhagen Climate Summit he said, "This is not fiction, this is science. Unchecked, climate change will pose unacceptable risks to our security, our economies, and our planet."
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